


Night Watch

by HyperKid



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Beau lies to herself, Cuddles, Fjord the diplomat, Fluff, Gen, Jester is secretly nesting, Molly lies to everyone, Nott the Deeply Fucking Sceptical, buy some fucking tents, it's winter it's cold now, snuggling up is logical, the Mighty Cuddly Nein, the mighty nein - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2018-11-22
Packaged: 2019-08-27 12:29:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16702588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HyperKid/pseuds/HyperKid
Summary: Nights are getting longer and colder as the Mighty Nein head for the Labenda swamp. Jester is sick of people complaining about the cold in the mornings. The only logical solution is a cuddle pile. And the pairs on watch have a lot to talk about.Molly and Caleb stand first, then Nott and Fjord, and Beau and Yasha. Jester's having the middle of the pile because it was her idea anyway.





	Night Watch

**Author's Note:**

> HK: I have been writing ~so much~ but it's on about a dozen different things and so many are becoming loooong.   
> Mollymauk: You really need to limit your focus.   
> HK: You really need to stop diverting my focus.   
> Mollymauk: I am your focus.   
> HK: Honestly I think that's the problem. Anyway! There's still a threesome in the works and some more smut but for now have some fluffy cuddles! I need to get a proper handle on the rest of the Nein.   
> Mollymauk: Or you can just write everything about me.   
> HK: The extent to which everything is about you anyway... is kind of concerning me.   
> Mollymauk: Liar.   
> HK: Oh! And I'm making plushies. Pics are sporadically shown on twitter @troublesomegabe with the tag #MollyDolly and #CriticalRole. 
> 
> WARNINGS!! foul language, fluff, tieflings 
> 
> Disclaimers: I still own nothing but my intent to feud with Matt Mercer in the greatest Scottish style. One day, Mercer.

Travelling rough was all very well in the summer, especially along the Menagerie Coast where it was warm and temperate. Some nights wouldn’t even need a fire to be comfortably warm, and if the ground was too rough there would always be the cart. 

 

But winter was coming, the nights drawing in longer and colder, and there was a hint of frost in the air. By this time, the Mighty Nein had been travelling together for several weeks, and put their lives in each others’ hands countless times. 

 

They were settling as a group. Becoming a family, of a sort. And mornings on the road after the inns of Zadash were cold, hard, and uncomfortable. 

 

Jester felt the cold the least of the group, but she was the first to come to the obvious conclusion. 

 

“Alright,” she called happily one night as they made camp, settling around the fire, “everybody cuddle up!” There was a moment of uncertainty among her companions, looking from one to the other to make sure they’d all heard what they thought they’d heard. 

 

“Uh... no?” Beau offered, giving her roommate a slightly wary look. It wasn’t that she’d mind cuddling with Jester. Just Jester. Not the rest of them. Jester rolled her eyes, grinning. 

 

“You’re going to want to in the morning, you know. It’s starting to get frosty!” 

 

“We can make a bigger fire,” Caleb offered quietly, putting down an armload of wood. Molly rolled his eyes and draped an arm over the wizard’s shoulder. 

 

“There’s not room for all of us to lay around the fire enough to keep warm. I say we puppy pile.” 

 

Nott made a face and jerked a thumb over her shoulder at Fjord. 

 

“You’re saying that because you’re not planning on sleeping next to him and his armour! It’s all hard and stiff and leathery.” 

 

For a very long moment, no one thought either tiefling was going to resist. It was such a perfect straight line. Molly draped himself over Fjord’s shoulder, batting his lashes. 

 

“I don’t mind sleeping next to hard and stiff.” 

 

“If it’s stiff before you go to sleep you’re doing it wrong,” Jester agreed with a snicker. Fjord coughed, figuring that was as good as he had any right to expect. 

 

“I can just wrap up in my cloak...” 

 

“We can all wrap up in our cloaks,” Beau affirmed, folding her arms. Jester rolled her eyes, flicking a piece of leaf from her hair into the fire. 

 

“I’m the one who has to listen to you all bitching about the cold, remember? And we didn’t get any tents or camping gear in Zadash, so we’ve got nothing better to do.” 

 

“We’ll be warmer if we all wrap up under each others’ cloaks,” Molly agreed cheerfully, tossing a stick of his own in. Beau opened her mouth to argue, possibly solely because it was Molly who said it, but was interrupted by Yasha. 

 

“I don’t mind cuddling up,” the bulky woman said quietly. The rest of the Nein all turned to her, either surprised she had spoken, surprised she’d agreed to cuddle, or mildly surprised that she was actually there. 

 

Beau’s objections melted like a candle in the wind. 

 

“Alright,” she said gruffly, shifting sideways until her shoulder bumped the barbarian woman’s. “We can cuddle up.” 

 

Jester and Molly turned an identical pair of grins her way and she raised a warning hand. 

 

“Unless either of you opens their fuckin’ mouth.” 

 

** 

 

It was decided that the next people on watch would sleep close to the edges of the pile, partially to give those less comfortable an excuse to avoid the tangle of limbs that was the middle. 

 

Caleb and Molly were to take the watch first, followed by Fjord and Nott, and Beau and Yasha. As Jester cheerfully pointed out, she’d have it first the next night, since the Traveller could be a pretty good watch partner. 

 

Odds that she’d be left to watch with the Traveller being quietly calculated at about negative infinity, but everyone except Molly and Caleb began the awkward process of picking spots. 

 

It was a bit of a dance, Fjord and Nott trying to find a spot together on one side where they wouldn’t necessarily be too close to one another, Beau trying for exactly the opposite with Yasha on the other side. Finally Jester threw herself to the ground with a gleeful laugh, declaring herself the middle and pulling Nott down into her arms. 

 

The goblin girl put up a token resistance, wriggling and fussing as Jester snuggled her, but didn’t really fight it. Yasha dropped down on Jester’s other side, holding up her cloak and shooting Beau a questioning look. 

 

Beau, whose dreams were clearly all coming true at once and in some very strange ways, tentatively lay down beside Yasha. There was still a little space between them... until one well muscled arm curled around Beau and tugged her in against an equally bulky chest. 

 

“Is... is it gonna cost me five gold?” Beau asked, trying to squash any sign of squeak from her voice. It was an old joke, one she wasn’t even sure Yasha would remember until the barbarian woman smiled down at her. 

 

“You can have a friend’s discount.” 

 

“Worth every copper,” Molly put in in a singsong voice, expertly ducking the ball bearing Beau whipped at him and retrieving it to put in his own bag. 

 

Yasha gave Beau a smile that was part bewildered, part amused as the monk huffed and settled herself back down. Beau was still a little afraid to touch her, even as that powerful arm draped around her waist. 

 

She wasn’t sure she’d be able to sleep like this, not with her fantasies so near. Yasha seemed to have no such worries, already closing her eyes and settling in. Her arm tightened around Beau a little, and the monk felt herself relax against her better judgement. 

 

There was a wonderful feeling of safety in those strong arms. A power Beau was happy to trust her life to. Maybe she could forget about everything else she wanted, and just have this moment. 

 

Yasha’s heart thudded a loud, reassuring beat, and Beau turned her head a little to press her cheek in against her chest. There was just a telltale hint of quickening, and Beau managed a small smile. 

 

Maybe this would be worth making a habit. 

 

On the other side of the fire, Caleb watched the others settling a little awkwardly into a pile and made a face. He didn’t mind curling up with Nott and Frumpkin, but another five bodies would take some getting used to. 

 

It meant another five bodies worth of warmth though. As long as he was touching them. Very six of one, half a dozen of the other, really. 

 

Molly gave him a light nudge, lowering his voice so he wouldn’t disturb the others. 

 

“You can be on the outside if you like when it’s our turn.” He could see the tension in every line of Caleb’s body. The human glanced up at him, frowning a little. 

 

“Next to you?” 

 

Molly tried not to show how touched he was by that sentiment. 

 

“You’re going to be next to me anyway,” he pointed out casually, “unless you want to tuck up between Jester and Yasha?” Caleb frowned and shook his head. 

 

“I had not thought of that... so I would be on the outside or between you and Jester?” It didn’t sound so bad, reducing the tangle of anonymous limbs down to two. 

 

He wouldn’t mind cuddling up with Molly for a night. And Jester touched all of the time anyway, little fleeting pets and pats as if reminding herself that they were all real. It was almost beginning to be comforting. 

 

Caleb shrugged a little awkwardly, gazing out into the night so he didn’t have to look at Molly. 

 

“I would be alright with either, I think,” he said slowly. A gust of cold wind whipped the fire up for a moment and Caleb shivered. Molly grinned, raising a brow. 

 

“Maybe we’d better put you in the middle so you don’t freeze. You humans are a delicate lot,” he teased, but in a gentle, affectionate way. Caleb ducked his head to hide his blush, but a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. 

 

“We are,” he agreed, bumping his shoulder into Molly’s. “I don’t know why you put up with us.” 

 

Put up with me. 

 

Molly was so used to not saying those words himself that he knew the shape they left in the air. 

 

He wrapped an arm around Caleb, tugging the wizard in close. 

 

“You have your uses in a tight spot. You’re much less conspicuous,” he pointed out with a grin. Caleb couldn’t help laughing at that. 

 

“Ja, I suppose. You would be less conspicuous with a different outfit.” Not that Caleb would tell anyone to change their coat. 

 

Molly snickered and flicked back his hair. 

 

“Please, darling. You can’t hide fabulous.” 

 

The rest of their watch was spent mostly in amiable conversation or comfortable silence as topics rose and fell. Molly pledged once again to get them some proper camping gear. Caleb knew he’d forget. 

 

After a couple of hours, Molly yawned and rose, stretching with an audible crick. 

 

“Alright, I’m ready to bed down. You wake Nott and I’ll get Fjord?” 

 

The temperature had dropped sharply, and the group of sleepers accordingly condensed enough that it took Caleb a moment to find Nott’s face. From there he found her shoulder, giving it a gentle shake. 

 

“Nott,” he whispered loudly, trying not to wake the other three. “Nott, wake up.” 

 

Molly was much less gentle as he went about waking Fjord, taking a waterskin and splashing the half orc in the face. 

 

“Hey prince of the sea, rise and shine!” 

 

Fjord jerked upright, spluttering, and Beau swore sleepily from the other side of the pile. Molly snickered and bent to kiss Fjord’s temple. 

 

“Not to worry, precious, it’s all fresh.” 

 

Fjord shot Molly a baleful glare, wiping water off his face and glancing around. 

 

“You didn’t have to do that,” he complained in a low grumble. Nott had been knocked awake too and she sat up more slowly, rubbing her eyes. 

 

“Is it our turn to be on watch now?” She asked quietly, glancing down at Jester’s arm around her waist. Caleb nodded, hoping the tiefling wasn’t going to try and hold on in her sleep. They’d need Yasha to break her grip. 

 

“Yes, you and Fjord. It was all quiet so far but I think I saw some lights on the road not long ago.” 

 

Nott’s ears pricked up at that and she looked around, trying to spot the road through the trees. 

 

“Someone else camping nearby? I could sneak out and... take a look?” The words “rob them blind” hung delicately in the air for a moment. Molly certainly looked interested. 

 

Fjord spoke for all of them, his voice firm enough to brook no argument. 

 

“Leave ‘em be unless they come troubling us. We don’t want to start a fight.” The thought of a fight settled Nott back down and she scampered to the fire instead, holding out her hands to warm them over the flames. 

 

“How was it?” Caleb asked softly while Molly regaled Fjord with a whispered tale of hidden foes. Nott glanced back at the pile of bodies. 

 

“Warm,” she admitted softly, looking down at the flames. “Better than just the two of us. But Jester snores.” 

 

Caleb chuckled softly, giving the tiefling woman a fond glance. 

 

“I thought that was Fjord.” 

 

“It’s definitely her, she’s still going,” Nott pointed out with a little giggle of her own. Caleb conceded the point, dropping another piece of wood on the fire. 

 

“You may need more firewood before your watch is over. Let Fjord get it, okay?” 

 

“Because he’s big and strong and can fight off anything he finds?” Nott asked, already thinking in the same directions. Caleb ruffled her hair gently. 

 

“And because I trust you more to keep me safe while I sleep.” Nott just about melted at that and nodded, a little teary. Reassured that she wasn’t going to sneak away hunting possible campsites, Caleb moved towards the sleeping group and paused. 

 

In theory, warmth and sleep were very good. In practice, sitting down and tucking in were much harder. 

 

Unless one happened to be Mollymauk. The tiefling draped an arm around Caleb’s shoulder, pulling him in for a light kiss on the cheek. 

 

“Night, watch buddy,” he said cheerfully, tugging Caleb down after him and pushing the human closer to Jester. The sleeping cleric made a soft, grumpy sound as the cold coat touched her, then buried her face in it. 

 

A second later she pulled back, blinking herself awake and making a face. 

 

“Cay-leeeeeeb,” she groaned, looping an arm around him to pull him closer. “You have to let me wash your coat.” 

 

Caleb frowned, already regretting not insisting on the outside edge, and tried to shift away. He got precisely nowhere. 

 

“I did not ask you to shove your face in it,” he hissed back, shooting Molly a “help me” look. Molly just grinned, pressing himself to Caleb’s front and draping an arm over him and Jester to bury his hand in Yasha’s fur. 

 

“Shut up and go back to sleep,” he whispered to Jester, leaning over Caleb to kiss her cheek. “It’s bedtime now.” 

 

Jester grumbled and slipped a hand in under Caleb’s coat. 

 

“Your faces are both freezing. Pull my cloak over you.” 

 

Molly complied, giving Caleb a kiss on the cheek too before covering him up. 

 

“Don’t mind her,” he whispered, tucking himself up close to form a tiefling sandwich, “she’s just grumpy because she cares.” 

 

Jester’s tail looped over Caleb’s hip to slap Molly’s ass, making him laugh softly. Caleb made another face and a token wriggle of protest before letting himself begin to settle. 

 

Tucked in and blocked from the wind by a pair of bodies, he was already feeling a lot warmer. Molly slipped an arm under his head and rested their foreheads together. 

 

“You okay?” He whispered, too low for even Jester to hear. Caleb managed a little smile. 

 

“Nein. But not more so than usual.” 

 

“Warm and toasty?” Molly’s tail brushed against Caleb’s hip, looping lazily around Jester’s. Caleb nodded, butting their heads together a little. 

 

“It is... nice,” he murmured, enjoying the casual brush of contact. “Better than the rough ground.” 

 

“We’ve been spoiling you with inns and beds,” Molly teased and Caleb nodded again. He should be used to the rough ground, but... well. The group was flush. 

 

“Maybe you should stop.” 

 

“Never.” Molly leaned up a little to brush his lips over Caleb’s forehead. Behind them, Jester whined sleepily. 

 

“Shut uuuuuup you two, I’m trying to sleep.” 

 

“Sorry darling,” Molly called softly, giving Caleb a grin so full of shared secrets that Caleb couldn’t help returning it. “Better go to sleep before she starts sawing logs again.” 

 

Jester made a half hearted attempt to smack him with her tail again, but didn’t bother pulling from his grip. Caleb chuckled softly at the pair of them and closed his eyes to rest. 

 

Across the fire, Nott was playing with her flask, glancing around the woods. Fjord had noticed the diminished log pile pretty much as soon as Molly stopped distracting him, and had gone for more. 

 

That meant that she was responsible for keeping an eye on the sleepers. 

 

Most of her time was reserved for Caleb, watching warily as he was snuggled between the two tieflings. She knew he didn’t like being touched by strangers, but it seemed that the Nein was finally becoming almost family. 

 

When it had been just the two of them, they had cuddled together for warmth and safety, goblin and human against the world. This was a lot more than that had been, but it wasn’t all bad. 

 

Nott certainly didn’t trust Mollymauk, especially not with her boy. But she trusted Jester, who was warm and kind and affectionate without all those layers. Jester could heal Caleb too, and she was strong enough to keep them safe. 

 

Not to mention that Jester was one of the very few people Nott had ever met who didn’t care that she was a goblin. 

 

There hadn’t been a moment’s surprise, or hesitation. Not even a pause in their antics as they ran around together on that first night. 

 

And Jester trusted Fjord, and Beau, and even Mollymauk for some strange reason. They could help protect Caleb, so Nott was determined to make it work. 

 

Yasha, though. Yasha was wonderful. Big and strong and powerful, Yasha had no problem ripping through anything in her way. And she was quiet too, which Nott thought Caleb might prefer. 

 

Hard to tell, when the tieflings had essentially adopted him. 

 

But Yasha was very restful company, so Nott made sure to buy her affections with flowers. 

 

A rustling in the woods caught her attention and Nott shifted in her seat, hand straying towards her crossbow. It turned out to be Fjord returning with twice Nott’s bodyweight in fresh firewood. 

 

“Cold night,” the large half orc grunted, dropping his new pile on the old. “Must have gone through a lot pretty fast.” 

 

Nott hummed an agreement, taking a quick swig from her flask. She was sat pretty close to the fire, tucked right up too it and she could still feel the chill. Fjord made a face when he caught sight of her. 

 

“Now Nott, you don’t want to drink right next to an open flame. What if you go up?” There was an honest, almost paternal concern in his voice. Nott took another swig from pure defiance, but put the flask away. 

 

“It’s cold,” she pointed out quietly, poking at the flames with a stick. A thought occurred to her and she frowned and held out the flask. “Do you want some?” 

 

Fjord was a little surprised to be asked but shook his head, a slight smile on his lips. 

 

“Don’t know if I could keep up with whatever it is you’re drinkin’,” he said with a soft chuckle. Nott frowned down at the flask then shrugged. 

 

“It’s just whiskey.” 

 

“Then maybe a nip, to keep out the cold?” Fjord accepted the flask and took a brief sip, making sure it was closed before handing it back. 

 

“That’s the one you had Pumat enchant, right?” He asked, watching Nott tuck it back in under her robes. 

 

“Yes,” the goblin girl admitted, her attention flicking back to the surrounding woods. 

 

“I guess you spent a lot on booze before that?” Fjord was fishing, mostly for something to do. They didn’t always partner up on watch and he didn’t get much time alone with Nott. 

 

Nott nodded a little sharply, playing her stick between her fingers. 

 

“A bit.” She seemed wary, closed off, so Fjord decided for a change of subject. Something she might enjoy a little more. 

 

“I suppose one day Caleb will be doing enchantments like that, huh?” As expected, Nott perked up a little bit. 

 

“He’s not a very big drinker,” she admitted with a slight smile, “but he will be capable of much greater magics.” 

 

“Good thing you had the flask done now, then. He’s the sort who’d want to help a friend,” Fjord elaborated at Nott’s quick look. The goblin girl considered this for a while, turning the flask over in her hands. 

 

“He tries to take care of everyone,” she agreed, sighing softly to herself. “Even when he should be taking care of himself.” 

 

“That’s why you’re with the group, isn’t it?” Fjord asked, a lopsided grin on his lips. “Taking care of each other.” 

 

Nott nodded and huffed, poking her toes closer to the fire. 

 

“It’s easier in some ways, but it’s harder too.” 

 

“Maybe because you don’t trust us?” 

 

Her head snapped around, eyes narrowing in Fjord’s direction. 

 

“We’re not doing that again,” she warned sharply and Fjord raised both hands quickly. 

 

“That’s not what I meant!” The two stared at each other for a long moment, then Nott nodded slowly and Fjord lowered his hands. “I meant that you still look at us as outsiders. Like we’ll work against you, not with you.” 

 

Nott considered this for a while, long enough that Fjord began to wonder if she’d answer him at all. When she finally spoke, her voice was very quiet. 

 

“Because if I’m prepared for you to turn on us, Caleb won’t be hurt as much if you do.” 

 

Fjord stared at the little goblin girl for a while, working the words around in his head. There was something so immeasurably sad about her, and he couldn’t honestly say that it came without reason. 

 

“You know, if I got into the academy I woulda taken Caleb with me,” he said softly and her head whipped around. 

 

“Would you?” 

 

“Even if they wouldn’t let him in,” Fjord confirmed. “I’d still share if he needed to look at anything.” 

 

Narrowed yellow eyes scrutinised him for a long time. 

 

“Why?” There was a deep suspicion in her voice, but also a hint of uncertainty. Fjord decided to lean into the uncertainty. 

 

“Because that’s what friends do. We help each other with our goals, and Caleb’s real smart. I’d need his help to get to the bottom of...” he waved vaguely at his falchion, unable to find the words, “this.” 

 

Nott nodded at this, more sure when they were discussing Caleb’s talents. 

 

“He’s a genius, he can figure anything out!” 

 

“Right,” Fjord agreed with a slight smile. “He’s a valuable friend for us to have.” 

 

Nott turned the words over in her head the same way she turned the flask between her fingers. 

 

“And because you value him, you’ll help us in our goals too?” She asked slowly, looking from the fire to Fjord. The large half orc nodded, giving her a half smile. 

 

“That’s what friends do. Never mind all that crap Molly and Beau spout about untrustworthy people. We’re friends, so I want what you want.” He pulled a small bag of dried fruit from his pocket, offering it to Nott. She hesitated before reaching out, but took a piece. 

 

“And if we want to do something on the side...” 

 

“We’ll help you out if it goes wrong,” Fjord confirmed, “but not before that if you didn’t want us to.” 

 

Nott considered this as well, then cautiously held out her flask to Fjord once more. 

 

“I think I can work with that,” she decided with a slight nod. Fjord grinned and took a quick pull from the flask before passing it back. 

 

“Y’know, you’re a valuable friend too.” 

 

Nott frowned up at him, looking for the lie. 

 

“I’m not very good at checking for traps,” she pointed out warily, “and I can’t fight like you or Beau or Molly.” 

 

“We don’t need you to,” Fjord retorted, adding another log to the fire, “we have me and Beau and Molly.” 

 

“And Yasha, at the moment,” Nott added, playing with the cap of her flask. 

 

“At the moment,” Fjord agreed cheerfully, “but you’re not like her, either.” 

 

“She’s an awful lot bigger than me,” Nott admitted with a soft sigh. 

 

“That’s why you’re special. Cuz you’re so small, you can do things none of us would be any good at,” Fjord explained when she gave him another sharp look. 

 

“I can get in and out of places,” the little goblin mused, then smiled. “And I’m very good at opening things.” 

 

“Think of all the trouble we’d’ve been in without you,” Fjord raised a hand, beginning to tick off fingers. “Fighting the nergeliid, the manticore, breakin’ into the sewers and all those fine houses. We need you, Nott. You’re an important member of the team.” 

 

She was perking up visibly with every finger, nodding more enthusiastically. 

 

“So we need each other,” she decided, nodding more firmly. “We need each other, and that makes us friends.” 

 

“That’s right. And maybe one day we’ll be close friends like you and Caleb.” 

 

Nott gave the bulky warlock another wary glance, but this time there was a hint of possibility in it. 

 

“Maybe,” she agreed slowly. “But don’t hold your breath.” 

 

“I’d just cough up salt water,” Fjord teased, spreading his arms widely. Nott giggled a little at that, poking another stick into the fire. 

 

“You’d freeze in this weather,” she warned him, twisting her stick to send sparks into the sky. Fjord made a face. 

 

“And I wouldn’t wanna think how Jester an’ Molly would try to defrost me.” His shudder was only a little faked, but it made Nott laugh again. 

 

“You’d wind up on a stake over the fire,” the goblin snickered ominously, giving a mostly burned log a sharp smack to knock it to pieces. 

 

“At best,” Fjord agreed, adding another log to replace the broken one. 

 

“Or carried in Yasha’s armpit.” 

 

Fjord considered protesting that idea as impractical, but... it didn’t seem worth arguing. Yasha could certainly carry him, and it was about as sensible as anything else the group would try. 

 

“Caleb could thaw me out?” He offered hopefully. Nott wiggled a hand in a “maybe” gesture. 

 

“That would be complicated. He’d need to go big and hot to get to your squishy middle bits.” 

 

“And I don’t want the squishy outer bits cooked,” Fjord sighed dejectedly, waggling his fingers at Nott to make her laugh again. 

 

“Best just to avoid it,” she declared, nodding sagely. 

 

The rest of their watch was a little more cheerful as they quietly discussed their companions and the various adventures the weeks had brought them. It had been a very busy time. 

 

Their watch brought them through to the darkest part of the night, and the wood pile was drawing low again. Fjord nodded to the pile of their companions, drawing himself up. 

 

“You wake Beau and Yasha, I’ll grab them a little more wood?” He offered, stretching his arms above his head. Nott gave the pile a slightly sceptical look. 

 

“Could you wake Beau?” She asked a little nervously, “She can be very grumpy.” 

 

“She won’t harm you,” Fjord reassured her with a soft chuckle, heading for the tree line. Nott was not noticeably convinced. 

 

“I think I’ll wake Yasha first,” she muttered to herself as she cautiously approached the group. The large barbarian woman still had a strong arm looped around Beau’s waist, but was tall enough that both her head and feet stuck out on either end of the group. 

 

Nott sidled warily up to her head, poking gently into Yasha’s thick mane of hair. 

 

“Yasha,” she called softly, trying not to wake Jester or Caleb. Yasha made a low grunting noise but didn’t stir. Nott poked her again, leaning closer to try and find her ear. “Yasha!” 

 

Jolting straight from sleep to full consciousness, Yasha sat straight up, spilling Beau out of the pile and onto a frosty patch of grass. The monk swore loudly, prompting sleepy grumbles from their other three companions. 

 

“Is it our watch?” Yasha asked quietly, catching Nott’s gaze with her own before the goblin could bolt. Nott nodded nervously, wringing her fingers. 

 

“Yes... sorry I had to wake you.” 

 

“It’s alright,” Yasha told her softly, glancing down at Jester’s squirmy body. Beau groaned, rubbing her hands over her arms and stomping over to the fire. 

 

“Where’s Fjord?” She asked grumpily, peering into the darkness without a hope of seeing him. 

 

“Fetching more wood,” Nott glanced around as well, trying to catch sight of the half orc. “We’ve been going through it quickly trying to keep warm.” 

 

Beau snorted but didn’t argue, dropping gracelessly to sit almost as close to the flames as Nott had. Yasha nodded and glanced around, shifting the thick fur wrapped around her shoulders. 

 

“We should get tents,” she remarked in her soft, low voice. Nott found herself nodding along, though she’d never really been in a tent. Yasha had a natural authority that made her every word seem measured and sure. 

 

“Would it be warmer?” The goblin asked equally quietly, giving Jester’s back a long look. The tieflings had happily tangled themselves and Caleb into a bundle of limbs so tight only clothing styles and colour would show whose limbs were whose. And Nott had no idea how Molly’s hand had ended up there. She had to check twice it was indeed lavender. 

 

Yasha gave her a slight smile, following her gaze down to the rest of the group. 

 

“A lot warmer,” she confirmed, then looked to the sky, “and more protection from the weather. But we won’t have any tonight.” 

 

Nott and Beau exchanged questioning glances, though neither gave them voice. Yasha just knew these kinds of things. Nott wasn’t sure if she liked or feared the storms, but Beau leaned towards the former. She couldn’t imagine Yasha being scared of anything. 

 

Although she’d be very happy to offer the larger woman comfort as needed. 

 

Fjord returned before anyone felt the need to break the new silence, carrying another armload of wood to stack next to the fire. 

 

“Don’t skimp,” he told Beau and Yasha, nodding to the woods around them. “There’s a lot of dead wood from those storms before we left Zadash. Looks like a few trees were struck by lightning.” 

 

That caught Yasha’s attention in a way that little ever did and she rose at once, nodding in the direction Fjord had come from. 

 

“Over there?” She asked, her voice suddenly purposeful. Fjord’s brow furrowed but he nodded again, dusting off his hands. 

 

“Yeah. Not far out. You want company?” 

 

Beau had opened her mouth to ask the same thing, and let out a huff of air when Yasha shook her head, making her way through the trees. 

 

“I won’t be long.” The large woman paused between the two closest, glancing over her shoulder at Beau. “I will be right back.” 

 

It almost sounded like a question. Beau waved her away with a slightly forced grin, taking over Nott’s fire poking stick. 

 

“I’ll try and make sure no one steals the group while you’re gone. ‘Cept maybe Molly.” 

 

Yasha stared at Beau for a moment longer, apparently to decide if she was serious. Nott laughed nervously. 

 

“We couldn’t lose Molly if we tried to, he’s too noisy,” the goblin girl put in, giving up on trying to worm a space between Jester and Caleb and settling herself against Jester’s back. She’d found one of Molly’s thighs and was Not Up to dealing with it. 

 

Beau snorted a laugh in agreement, adding another log to the fire. 

 

“We’ll be fine,” she told Yasha with a more genuine smile. Yasha nodded, reassured, and headed on into the woods. 

 

Fjord took a moment to watch her go (along with Beau, whose eyes never left the large silhouette), then sighed and made his way over to the group. 

 

“I really can’t get a read on her,” he admitted, giving Nott a careful poke with his foot before sitting. “You still okay with snuggling up?” 

 

Nott swatted his boot away. 

 

“Give me your bag as a pillow again and I’ll make do. Unless you wanted to sleep next to Jester?” She asked sharply, eyes narrowing. Fjord shook his head as he settled, passing his bag over obediently. 

 

“If anythin’ goes missing I’ll know who took it.” 

 

Nott stuck her tongue out at him, arranging the bag under her head and tugging a fold of Jester’s skirt across her legs as a blanket. Fjord wondered where the actual blanket had ended up. 

 

Beau tucked it more snugly around her shoulders and said nothing at all to assist him. 

 

Eventually the half orc managed to arrange himself reasonably comfortably. The first time they’d settled he was wary of encroaching on Nott’s personal space, but since he’d woken with her pressed into his stomach he didn’t bother this time. No, he tucked up enough to get a little warmth, pulling his own cloak and blanket over both of them and their cleric. 

 

Nott made a small, happy sound at the extra warmth, burrowing in. 

 

Beau watched them settle, playing with the fire and wondering what to do when Yasha came back. She could guess Jester had suggested they take watch together as a way to give her time. 

 

Beau did want time with Yasha. She’d have preferred time when she knew she wasn’t going to make an ass out of herself. But that would involve knowing what to say to her. 

 

True to her word though, Yasha was back very soon. The barbarian just appeared through the trees once more, pale skin glowing like a ghost in the dark. Beau tried to pretend her reaction was surprise. 

 

“Jeez, Yash, make a little noise when you walk,” she teased half heartedly, scooping up her blanket. Yasha shot her a slightly apologetic smile as she took a seat of her own by the fire. 

 

“I didn’t want to wake anyone.” Quiet claimed the small clearing and Beau poked at the flames a little more viciously. Stupid joke. Especially when she was meant to be on guard. Now Yasha would think she was incompetent. 

 

Yasha had something else entirely on her mind though. After what seemed like an age she cleared her throat, hesitated. She didn’t like showing nerves, but she wasn’t sure what to talk about. 

 

“You... haven’t done this before?” She asked quietly, waving towards the puppy pile of their companions. Molly had caught one of Fjord’s hands and pulled it over Jester’s shoulder, and apparently the blue tiefling had caught hold. 

 

Fjord’s attempts to pull away without waking anyone were not going anywhere. 

 

Beau snickered and shook her head. 

 

“Nah. Caleb and Nott always cuddled up while we were on the road, but the rest of us mostly spread out.” A thought occurred to her, and she amended the statement. “Until Molly and Jester started fucking. Couldn’t keep ‘em apart after.” 

 

Yasha hummed like she knew exactly what Beau was talking about, and the monk had to admit that she probably did. It sounded so very Molly. 

 

“Didn’t you get cold?” Yasha asked after a moment. Beau shifted a little, knocking the fire about to hide her discomfort. 

 

“It wasn’t too bad before Harvest Close. It never really came up.” Never came up because no one was daft enough to suggest snuggling up with the virtual strangers they had been for that first week on the road. 

 

Beau had to admit she was probably a large part of the reason for that; she didn’t exactly encourage snuggling. 

 

Not because she didn’t enjoy it. But she had an “I’m a badass” reputation to build and maintain, and becoming Jester’s teddybear would not help it. 

 

Now Caleb was the teddybear and seemed to at least be staying asleep through most of the bullshit. Beau could admire that. And wonder how that level of unconsciousness hadn’t gotten him killed already. 

 

Then again, the gleam of silver thread around the campsite did suggest another answer. Maybe wizards could sleep more deeply because they had spells to protect them. She might ask him. 

 

Beau herself hadn’t managed a particularly deep or restful sleep between the hard ground under the bedrolls and noise of four other bodies tucked up together, not to mention being so close to Yasha. She wouldn’t have traded it for anything, and she’d had a lot worse. 

 

From what she could tell Yasha slept like a log, utterly still and unmoving. Until she tossed Beau like a paper plate when Nott woke her up. 

 

Beau couldn’t be mad. The memory was going to be spank bank material later. 

 

Yasha was frowning a little and watching the pile. There was a hint of pink in her cheeks, immediately visible with her pale skin. 

 

“I hope you’re not uncomfortable because I’m here,” she said softly, not looking at Beau. The monk startled a little, dropping her stick to look at Yasha. 

 

“No!” She said quickly, almost tripping over the word on its way out. “No, we just really never did it before. And I guess it’s colder now so Jester wants to...” she paused, rethinking the coming sentence and snorting. “Honestly I think she’ll take any excuse she can get.” 

 

Yasha was watching her from the corner of her eye now and a slight smile began creeping across her lips. 

 

“I could see that,” she agreed, her gaze warm and fond where it fell on the two tieflings. “She seems like one to like cuddling.” 

 

“Do you?” The words slipped out before Beau could question it, her mouth still apparently on auto pilot. Yasha gave her a slightly confused look. Figuring that she was committed now, Beau nodded to the pile. “Do you like to cuddle?” 

 

“Oh...” Yasha glanced over at the group again, then nodded slowly. “Yes.” 

 

Apparently she felt that was all that needed to be said on the subject, but Beau was dying to know more. Curiosity bubbled below her skin and she fidgeted a little. She didn’t want to pry. But... 

 

“I figured you wouldn’t want to,” she admitted. “You spend a lot of time on your own so I thought maybe it was because you didn’t like people.” 

 

Yasha considered this for a while, gaze drifting towards the skies. It happened a lot while she was thinking, like she was looking for a celestial answer. When she spoke her voice was a little hazy, like her mind had drifted away. 

 

“I do like people. I like you, and Molly, and Jester and the others. I like to be here with you. But there are... things I need to do. I try to come back when I can. And I try to... be here when I’m here. Do you know what I mean?” 

 

The look she gave Beau was abrupt and piercing, a sudden return of her full attention that caught Beau off guard. Beau stammered a little under its intensity but couldn’t look away. 

 

“I... I guess... kinda? Maybe?” She hedged, and Yasha chuckled softly. 

 

“It doesn’t make a lot of sense,” she admitted easily, her gaze drifting to the fire. Without that stare nailing her to the trees, Beau found herself spinning quickly, desperate to catch up. 

 

“No, I think I get it. Like if you’re in the middle of a group hug, you’re not gonna forget you’re here. And then when you’re gone you can remember the hug and remember all of us and hope we can do it again?” She was beginning to ramble and she knew it, but she was hungry to understand Yasha. For Yasha to feel like Beau was someone who could get her. 

 

And Yasha rewarded her with a bright, beaming smile and a more enthusiastic nod. 

 

“Yes! Just like that.” 

 

Warmth pooled in Beau’s chest and she grinned, tossing another log onto the fire. A shower of sparks spiralled into the sky. She’d done something right after all! 

 

“What about you?” Yasha asked, and Beau’s heart skipped a beat. 

 

“I, uh, well...” 

 

“Do you like to cuddle?” Yasha clarified, like that might have been the problem. Beau’s cheeks flushed and she rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed. 

 

“I know, I just... look, promise not to tell Molly.” 

 

Yasha snickered a little but nodded, raising a hand to tap her heart. 

 

“On my life.” 

 

Beau sighed and sucked in a deep breath, glaring suspiciously at the pile of tiefling. She wouldn’t put it past the sneaky fucker to have been listening all along. And Molly might have too. 

 

“I do like to cuddle,” she admitted in a rush, words stumbling over themselves, “but mostly not with guys or people I work with a whole lot. I gotta be taken seriously, you know?” 

 

“And you can’t be taken seriously if you cuddle?” Yasha asked, a slight furrow between her brows. Beau sighed again, kicking a toe through the dirt. 

 

“Not really? I’m not like Jester, I’m not all smiles and sunshine and rainbows. I’m-“ 

 

“An asshole,” Yasha cut her off, her lips curling up into another smile. Beau considered telling her off. Wound up nodding and grinning back. 

 

“Yeah. I’m not great at soft. Like asking for cuddles.” 

 

A warm, comfortable silence followed the confession, and for a while Beau wondered if she should change the subject. Nothing else really came to mind. She was just opening her mouth to resort to comments on the weather when Yasha spoke. 

 

“You know, you could always come cuddle with me. Then you don’t have to ask.” It came out quickly, almost as fast as Beau had been stuttering. Like she had to work herself up to saying it. Like she was nervous. 

 

Beau couldn’t have held back the idiot grin for all the gold in Zadash. 

 

They talked about anything and everything for the last few hours of their watch. The sun finally made an appearance and painted the sky in reds and pinks, and setting the grass a glimmer. 

 

“Is that fucking frost?” Beau snorted in disbelief. The grass around the fire was mostly dry, and dew damp where she and Yasha were sitting. They might have nudged closer together over the night. 

 

Yasha reached out to pluck a few blades from further away, rubbing them between her fingertips. 

 

“Yes,” she said with a slight frown. “Will it snow soon?” 

 

“Fuck I hope not,” Beau groaned, dropping her head back. “Guess Jester was right about us huddling for warmth.” 

 

“You should get tents,” Yasha remarked softly, frowning at the wagon again. “You’re going to need them.” 

 

“We’re going to need them,” Beau corrected with her heart in her throat. It was worth it for Yasha’s smile. 

 

“Yes. I suppose we are.” 

 

“And we can still cuddle in tents,” Beau added hopefully. Small animals and birds were becoming more lively by the moment, their sounds adding themselves to the forest chorus. 

 

“We could sleep in in tents,” Yasha mused with a nod to the rising noise. Beau moaned wistfully, rolling her shoulders. 

 

“Maybe have some proper mattresses to sleep on. Like those bedrolls, or the nest the Knot Twins had at the circus.” 

 

“Jester would love a nest,” Yasha agreed, sending another fond smile to the tousled blue head in the middle of the lump. “Full of cushions.” 

 

“More cushions than blankets,” Beau snorted and shook her head. “The little shit doesn’t even feel the cold like the rest of us do.” 

 

There was a long moment of silence. 

 

“Then why is she in the middle of the pile?” Yasha asked slowly. The two exchanged a look which slowly broke into grins. Beau nodded eagerly. 

 

“Do it. Just do it. Please.” 

 

Yasha hauled herself up and around the fire, stalking towards the feet end of the group. Jester and Molly had disentangled a little at some point in the night as Jester had snuggled into Nott and Fjord too. One ankle was stuck temptingly beyond the edge of legs and knees. 

 

With surgical precision and lightning speed, Yasha struck. A blur of movement, a startled squeak, and a scream later the entire pile had spilled apart across the ground, hands lurching for weapons. 

 

The first thing they saw was Beau, arms wrapped around herself as she rolled around on the ground, laughing until she couldn’t breathe. 

 

“Put me DOWN!” Came a loud cry from behind, and the rest of the Nein turned. Jester was dangling in the air by one ankle, twisting and flailing sleepily at a laughing Yasha, who held her at arm’s length. The tiefling’s tail lashed around, her skirts falling down over her head. 

 

There was a long moment of silence. 

 

Molly broke it, snickering. 

 

“That’ll wake you up in the morning.” 

 

**Author's Note:**

> HK: I promise I'm trying to keep to my November resolution of having a lot for everyone since I'm skipping Nano this year! It's just all apparently going to be long and coming heavily in this last few weeks.   
> Mollymauk: The porn is coming heavily?   
> HK: You are untrustworthy and wonderful.


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